'Third crasher' Carlos Allen says he fell in with delegation by chance, was given table by White House staffer

UPDATED 9:08 a.m.

Carlos Allen, the alleged third state dinner crasher, said on "Good Morning America" Monday that he accidentally fell in with the invited Indian delegation with whom he was admitted into White House.

Once inside, his lawyer added, Allen was shown to his prime table by a White House staffer.

His account, if accurate, suggests that no collusion or conspiracy was involved in getting a man whom the Secret Service says was not on the list through layers of security -- just a matter of a guy looking the part in the right place and right time.

But Allen, 39, an aspiring D.C. Internet publisher, also continued to maintain, despite official denials, that he was invited, and showed a photo of the invitation he says he received in the mail.

GMA anchor Robin Roberts -- who found herself seated with Allen at the Nov. 24 dinner and on Monday snagged his first interview -- noted that Allen could not show an envelope or any part of the invitation with his name on it.

Allen just shrugged. "That's the only thing I received in the actual mail, so that's the only thing I took to the White House," he said. "I can't explain what the Secret Service procedures are."

A source familiar with the invitations for the state dinner said the document shown on GMA did not resemble the mailed invitations for that night but instead appeared to be part of the dinner program, which were placed on tables and available for any attendee to take home.

The White House has declined to comment on Allen and has referred questions to the Secret Service, citing a pending criminal investigation.

The Secret Service said last week they were probing the presence of a third uninvited guest at the dinner and that it has referred the matter as a criminal investigation to the U.S. Attorney's office. Meanwhile, the matter of Tareq and Michaele Salahi -- the Northern Virginia socialites whose unexpected attendance at a pre-state dinner reception exposed security gaps -- has apparently been referred to a grand jury, which has subpoenaed witnesses to testify about alleged lies to government officials.

Allen's lawyer, A. Scott Bolden, appeared on the show with his client and sought to distance him from the Salahi matter.

Whether or not you believe Allen was invited, "at some point that night, Carlos Allen became an invitee of the White House," Bolden said. Allen asked a White House staffer where he should sit at dinner, he said, and "the White House staffer showed him to that seat. Doesn't sound like Carlos Allen is a criminal trespasser. Sounds like he's an invitee."

While the Salahis arrived at the main entrance through which most invited guests passed through security, Allen came into the White House a very different way -- with a part of the official Indian delegation vetted by the State Department that congregated at the Willard Hotel to be cleared by Secret Service there before traveling on a van to the White House.

The Indian embassy last week denied any knowledge of Allen or that it did anything to help arrange his access into this group, which included several Indian businessmen as well as officials accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

On "Good Morning America," Allen told a surprising story that seemed to support the embassy's stance. He said he stopped by the hotel to use the bathroom -- after being told at the White House gates that he was too early for the dinner.

"I went to the bar area to see if anyone was there I knew -- I know a lot of people in D.C." Instead, he told ABC's Roberts, he saw an impressive-looking crowd in the hallway. "Everyone was looking good. I was looking good, because I was going to the state dinner... They said, oh, it's time to go to the White House. I said, well, I'm going to the White House too, because I have an invite."

So then, he said, "I got in line with everyone else, all right?... I went up to the actual Secret Service individual. I unbuttoned my jacket... He wanded me, he didn't ask for anything else."

Allen also offered explanations for actions before and after the dinner that may have looked suspicious. Yes, as captured on video while walking into the White House, he looked around and behind himself, but because he was excited, not scared or nervous. "I turned around and looked around [at the others getting off the van] and said, 'yo, it's time to party.'"

And yes, he removed all his state dinner photos from Facebook and his "Hush Society Magazine" Web site after the Salahi story broke. That was because someone had emailed him noting he wasn't on the publicly released guest list and warning he was in trouble. "I don't want to be part of what's going on with this frenzy. I don't know what the heck's going on, so I took it down," he said.

And yes, he initially denied last month to the Washington Post and others who asked that he had attended the dinner. "I didn't know these people who were calling... I did not want to embarrass my president... if there was some issue that the Secret Service or the White House made a mistake with." But he said he came clean from the start with Secret Service, telling them last month that he had attended the dinner; his lawyer says he is continuing to cooperate with the investigation.

Desiree Rogers is the wrong woman in the wrong place. She fired the professional in charge of checking guest's invitations. The White House could do itself a tremendous favor by easing this woman out the door. Why not say she's going back to Chicago to be Rahm E's campaign manager?

This guy is full of it. If he really had an invite, he would have returned to the front gate of the White House as he allegedly did in the first place. The reason he didn't is because he got turned away--he wasn't on the list!! So he tries an alternate way to gain entry and he does. This guy is a shameless social climber who is used to getting into events without paying or without an invite. I know the type and this guy is one of them.

The most vaunted security force in the world. The most advanced security technology in the world. The most amateur President and staff in the world.

These people cannot organize and control a dinner. BUT---they are now in charge of the auto industry, the banking industry, the insurance industry, and now they want to run the healthcare industry. REALLY? And what exactly can the public expect from this crowd?

What makes everyone so sure that this hasn't happened in previous administrations? People started looking in this case because the Salahis overplayed their hand, getting their pictures taken with so many important guests and publicizing their stunt. I'll bet it has happened before. Now everything will be tightened up, which is good.

What makes everyone so sure that this hasn't happened in previous administrations? People started looking in this case because the Salahis overplayed their hand, getting their pictures taken with so many important guests and publicizing their stunt. I'll bet it has happened before. Now everything will be tightened up, which is good.

Sorry, but people KNOW if they have an invitation or not. The people doing the invitations ALSO know. I wonder where he got the invite in his possession? It seems that this was a purposeful trespass of a White House State Dinner.

He would be well advised not to lie to congress.

This is a security issue that needs to get cleared up before future events.

Sorry, but people KNOW if they have an invitation or not. The people doing the invitations ALSO know. I wonder where he got the invite in his possession? It seems that this was a purposeful trespass of a White House State Dinner.

He would be well advised not to lie to congress.
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What a hoot...not to lie to congress. That warning was really effective with cabinet level appointees, wasn't it. Oh, wait, it probably doesn't apply to them, since they didn't do anything serious. The sad truth is that Congress is taking this much more seriously than any IMPORTANT issue and devoting more time to it than reading or legitimately debating health care. Secret service gets embarrassed in its own mess, so the answer is to prosecute to deter others. I am sure al-Quaeda is waking in its boots over the possibility of prosecution for tresspass! Why didn't we think of this as a counter terriorism option before!!!!!

Gimme a break. This guy came across as sleazy. He went to the "actual" W hotel and the "actual" Willard and the "actual" White House" with an "actual" invitation. He really sounded ignorant, not someone who would be invited to an outhouse let alone the White House. His response that his invitation came without an addressed envelope? Wouldn't the average person question that? And the lawyer isn't much better. By his reasoning, once a butler shows you where to sit you are officially invited even if you crashed the event????? Where'd this guy get his law degree? Marcy Elementary school?

I know where he got the invite: Off the table where he was not supposed to be seated. He lifted it from another guest and is now claiming it was sent to him. That's why he doesn't have an envelope. LIAR!!

These crashers have not been arrested, so I assume that anyone who wants to walk into the White House has that right. If it is okay for them with no consequences, obviously the Secret Service does not object to an open door policy.

this has nothing to do with "Democratic" security. This has to do with incorporating a cost-cutting business model into every branch of government, and the subsequent failure of that policy. Every branch of government, everywhere, is now dominated by excessive numbers of top managers who have no idea what the company or organization does and don't care, and excessively LOW numbers of front line staff, who are too demoralized and worried about their jobs to do their job properly. This model should have never come into government.

we need to privatize security to a firm run by ex-israelis and be done with it. neither our security nor our education nor our health care system is anywhere close to being the best in the world unless you like high level costs and low level results.

I would question why some journalist (???) would have this clown on their program. He has no credibility and after about the third attempt to make someone believe that the dinner program is the invitation he received, his butt should have been booted.

One has to place some of the responsibility on people like Robin Roberts who purports to be a reporter, but tolerates yellow journalism such as this interview.

"Everyone was looking good. I was looking good, because I was going to the state dinner... They said, oh, it's time to go to the White House. I said, well, I'm going to the White House too, because I have an invite."

Wow, talk about a quote that doesn't ring true. Who says they are going to an elite event "because I have an invite"? Not to mention that "having an invite" and "being invited" may or may not be the same thing.

If they really had an invitation, they wouldn't bother saying it because it would be assumed.

You have got to be kidding with this guy! "They looked good, I looked" good - who is this primadona! I'm really wondering if this guy knows how to tetll the truth.

I am sincerely hoping that the individuals responsible for these mistakes are taken to task and this does not happen again - the lack of security, lack of oversight and protocol could have placed our President and his family in a disasterous situation.

We need to make people who are given the responsibility to protect the President, his family and this country accountable. When does that happen in government?

It sounds like this guy speaks in that Negro dialect Harry Reid doesn't like.

He began his story with a bunch of lies. I've not seen or heard anything subsequently that persuades me he has decided to tell the truth.

What I am beginning to wonder about is what the numbers have been, historically, of wannabe party crashers at State dinners. In the past, had the Secret Service/Social Secretary routinely encountered party crashers? How many?

If the answer is rarely, then what motivated these party crashers? Why did they think they could get in? Were any others turned away?

I'm sharing a post not because I want to be distracted by this 'news,' but mainly because I am embarrassed.

Since this weekend, with the Henry Reid story 'breaking,' I have been in a foul mood. After watching this GMA video clip, however, I now am not so upset. I no longer ‘hate’ Mr. Reid –he was simply making sense of things like anyone else would -Black, White, Red or Blue. While I still don't like the 'color' comment he made in private, the ‘dialect’ part is completely fair.

It's not that I haven't heard that 'compliment' before -heck, even Spike Lee covered this issue of ‘house’ versus ‘field’ in one of his better movies (of the time), School Daze.

Mr. Allen should be given a lot of props for doing all that he has so far in life to be able to wake up each day and put on a pretty suit, but he should be docked a few points (OK, a lot of points) for getting on national TV with that CRAZY story and, yes, he should be docked even more for his over use of the word 'actual.' I think he said it, actually, 23 times in that GMA video clip.

He really should just HUSH his mouth, rebrand and lay low for about 3-4 years. During that time, he should work consistently with a good speech coach. Sure, eliminating stray words that ACTUALLY have no context is important, but maintaining a consistent tone versus that high-pitched whine while talking will be the goal of his therapy. BTW, if anyone has ever seen ANY episode of Good Times or Sanford and Son, they’d know that the use of the high-pitched whine is a pretty clear indicator that Mr. Allen may be, strike that, IS not telling the truth.

Ms. Roberts should have thought about linking herself to this gentleman.

What a scuz! He obviously doesn't own/have/has never even seen the "invitation" that he claims to have received. Producing that would seem to be the simplest solution. No invitation, no credit to him, since the latter is based on having the former.

Lock this silly social climber in the same cell block with the two other impostors who crashed the state dinner. Make an example out of these "three stoogies" and you won't have to worry about the incompetence of the SS or WH staffers in the future.

Maybe I am being a little less generous, but his whole story seems like one big concocted lie.

The various inconsistencies include his explanation that he was given a seat must mean that he was invited is logically incorrect. The accurate conclusion he probably reached was that because he was shown a seat to a table, there was no objection to him being there. It doesn't mean he was not invited in the first place.

Also consider his point that he did not have the original invitation. Anyone who is invited to an event as prestigious as a State Dinner at the White House is going to save every piece of memorabilia, including the invitation.

His claim that he took down his Facebook postings doesn't add legitimacy that he was an official guest. If he was truly an official invitee, he would have no need to take down the pictures and postings.

Finally, I wonder if there is a video of his visiting the White House gates in advance of the event as he purports. I'm guessing that this too is just part of the fabrication.

Most people have the good sense to know when they are in a place where they do not belong, i.e., an univited guest. He should really do everyone a favor and come clean with what really happened.

Good heavens this is SUCH a smokescreen! There must be something else going on somewhere else that they REALLY do not want us to know about. I just read somewhere today (in the New York Times!)that over 70+% of reporting is repetitive information, and very very little new investigative reporting goes on. By the infatuation much of the big news outlets have with drivel like this, I see that it is true.

This guys pants are on fire. Are we to believe that someone who is invited to a White House Formal Dinner who is one of the movers and shakers doesn't know they should bring their invitation? Give us a break!

>Desiree Rogers is the wrong woman in the wrong place. She fired the professional in charge of checking guest's invitations.

I don’t know much about Desiree Rogers. But given what I read at the time (pasted below) about the ex-Bush staffer in question, I don’t think her not being kept on is particularly damning. Nor am I surprised that she made of point of going to the press to proclaim that all this was Desiree’s/Obama’s fault. Cathy Hargraves appears to be a highly partisan, right wing opponent of the current WH. Why would Obama keep someone like that in his inner circle?
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Pasted from a political blog at the time:

Cathy Hargraves had originally been hired as a White House political appointee of the Bush administration in 2001. But in 2006, she “burrowed in” and was given a position on the White House residence staff, as “assistant for arrangements,” tasked with overseeing the invitations for guests at state dinners and keeping track of RSVPs.

Hargraves blames Rogers for downgrading her position to what she referred to as a “data-entry clerk.” Hargraves claims that her duties were reduced, because Rogers told her, “In these economic times, I don’t think we’re going to have very many lavish expensive dinners. It wouldn’t look very good.” Unhappy with her new role, Hargraves quit and moved to Houston with her husband.

Hargraves’ Facebook page reveals that she is a fan of Glenn Beck, an anti-Obama Facebook site named Barack Obama’s TelePrompter, and a right-wing group named WeThePeople.ORG. A look at the WeThePeople.ORG site shows radical and paranoid rhetoric referring to the Obama administration, as “Marxist thugs from Chicago.”

Robin Roberts WAS invited to the State Dinner, so presumably she knew what the real invitations looked like and the normal procedures to be admitted to the dinner (e.g. pre-screening of social security numbers). So why didn't she nail this guy in her GMA interview? Isn't she supposed to be a journalist?

Some foreign dignitaries get offended when they are subjected to security procedures. But in order to ensure strong security, everyone should be checked. It is best if the President and senior leaders led the way and allow themselves to be subject to security procedures like verifying their biometric identity and frisking. Following this lead, foreign and domestic dignitaries will be subjected to the same processes. I am reminded of the movies like the Dirty Dozen and TV series like the Hogan’s Heroes. The terrorist plotters must have watched such movies and what if they plan to impersonate a dignitary. The higher level they impersonate, the better their luck will be and the most disastrous will be the consequences for the free world.

Actually, I find Mr. Allen's story actually very sort of credible, given his actual recounting of his actual invite received in the actual mail, even though that actual "invite" [which actually is a verb and not a noun] does not appear to have been actually addressed to the actual Mr. Allen [or, at least, he can provide no actual evidence of the same]; and the actual fact that he went to the actual 1st entrance of the actual White House and actually was turned away; and then went to the actual 2nd entrance of the actual White House and was actually turned away; and then was actually referred back to the actual 1st entrance; and was again actually turned away; and thereafter was at the actual W Hotel [because it was actually raining]; and then went to the actual Willard Hotel to actually utilize the actual men's room and actual bar; and then joined the actual delegation of individuals from actual India, because they all actually looked good and he certainly actually looked good as well; and then boarded an actual van; and then went to the actual White House where he was actually wanded by actual members of the actual Secret Service; and then actually was admitted to the actual dinner where he was actually seated by an actual staff person of the actual White House; and he would actually never do anything to embaress the actual President or the actual administration, because he actually had an actual belief he was invited and actually deserved to actually be there.

Actually, it appears an actual great time was had by the actual Mr. Allen, if not by all.

Actually, I find his actual explanation on the actual television actually somewhat actially questionable.

So, has anyone asked him how & when he got his invitation (if he did actually get one)?

Or who he knows at the White House (if he actually knows anyone)? Why he thinks he was invited (if he was actually invited)? What staffer seated him (and did he have a personal place-card)? When and how he first got to the White House that night (if he actually... you know)?

This clown does not become an invitee after unlawfully entering a premises that he had neither the right nor the privilege to enter, simply by asking for directions or where to sit while there. Unless he was an official invitee (which he was not) this person is at liar and trepasser.
He and the Salahis should all be prosecuted. They have exposed the shortcomings of the Secret Service in securing the White House and Preisdent Obama. Desiree Rogers is not responsible for the SS failing to do its job.